Twin Cities hardware store to break ground

Although the store is only moving six block to an empty lot on the city’s East side, owner Kendall Crosby told the newspaper it took him six years of negotiating with city and county officials before he could close on the site. Financing for the construction and relocations costs are estimated at $1.9 million to $2.6 million. City and county grants are helping to defray the costs, and Crosby is investing $900,000 of his own money, the article reported.

The move was prompted by two nearby municipal construction projects planned for this year -- a community center and library -- and a county road-widening project also slated for the near future. City officials projected traffic counts would decline at Kendall’s current location and pick up on Phalen Boulevard, the location of his new store.

"Either I was leaving now, or I was going to be gone in 2014," Crosby told the newspaper.